Engineering topics

Dittmar, James H.

Publications and source records attributed to Dittmar, James H..

At least 19 records

NASA NTRS2003

The Noise of a Forward Swept Fan

A forward swept fan, designated the Quiet High Speed Fan (QHSF), was tested in the NASA Glenn 9-by 15-foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel to investigate its noise reduction relative to a baseline fan of the same aerodynamic performance. The objective of the Quiet High Speed Fan was a 6 decibel reduction in the Effective Perceived Noise relative to the baseline fan at the takeoff condition. The intent of the Quiet High Speed Fan design was to provide both a multiple pure tone noise reduction from the forward sweep of the fan rotor and a rotor-stator interaction blade passing tone noise reduction from a leaned stator. The tunnel noise data indicted that the Quiet High Speed Fan was quieter than the baseline fan for a significant portion of the operating line and was 6 dB quieter near the takeoff condition. Although reductions in the multiple pure tones were observed, the vast majority of the EPNdB reduction was a result of the reduction in the blade passing tone and its harmonics. The baseline fan's blade passing tone was dominated by the rotor-strut interaction mechanism. The observed blade passing tone reduction could be the result of either the redesign of the Quiet High Speed Fan Rotor or the redesigned stator. The exact cause of this rotor-strut noise reduction, whether from the rotor or stator redesign, was not discernable from this experiment.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Method to Further Reduce the Perceived Noise of Low Tip Speed Fans

The use of low tip speed, high bypass ratio fans is a method for reducing the noise of turbofan jet engines. These fans typically have a low number of rotor blades and a number of stator vanes sufficient to achieve cut-off of the blade passing tone. Their perceived noise levels are typically dominated by broadband noise caused by the rotor wake turbulence - stator interaction mechanism. A 106 bladed, 1100 ft/sec takeoff tip speed fan, the Alternative Low Noise Fan, has been tested and shown to have reduced broadband noise. This reduced noise is believed to be the result of the high rotor blade number. Although this fan with 106 blades would not be practical with materials as they exist today, a fan with 50 or so blades could be practically realized. A noise estimate has indicated that such a 50 bladed, low tip speed fan could be 2 to 3 EPNdB quieter than an 18 bladed fan. If achieved, this level of noise reduction would be significant and points to the use of a high blade number, low tip speed fan as a possible configuration for reduced fan noise.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS2000

The Alternative Low Noise Fan

A 106 bladed fan with a design takeoff tip speed of 1100 ft/sec was hypothesized as reducing perceived noise because of the shift of the blade passing harmonics to frequencies beyond the perceived noise rating range. A 22 in. model of this Alternative Low Noise Fan, ALNF, was tested in the NASA Glenn 9x 15 Wind Tunnel. 'Me fan was tested with a 7 vane long chord stator assembly and a 70 vane conventional stator assembly in both hard and acoustically treated configurations. In addition a partially treated 7 vane configuration was tested wherein the acoustic material between the 7 long chord stators was made inactive. The noise data from the 106 bladed fan with 7 long chord stators in a hard configuration was shown to be around 4 EPNdB quieter than a low tip speed Allison fan at takeoff and around 5 EPNdB quieter at approach. Although the tone noise behaved as hypothesized, the majority of this noise reduction was from reduced broadband noise related to the large number of rotor blades. This 106 bladed ALNF is a research fan designed to push the technology limits and as such is probably not a practical device with present materials technology. However, a low tip speed fan with around 50 blades would be a practical device and calculations indicate that it could be 2 to 3 EPNdB quieter at takeoff and 3 to 4 EPNdB quieter at approach than the Allison fan. 7 vane data compared with 70 vane data indicated that the tone noise was controlled by rotor wake-stator interaction but that the broadband noise is probably controlled by the interaction of the rotor with incoming flows. A possible multiple pure tone noise reduction technique for a fan/acoustic treatment system was identified. The data from the fully treated configuration showed significant noise reductions over a large frequency range thereby providing a real tribute to this bulk absorber treatment design. The tone noise data with the partially treated 7 vane configuration indicated that acoustic material in the source noise generation region may be more effective than similar material outside of the generation region.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Some Acoustic Results from the Pratt and Whitney Advanced Ducted Propulsor: Fan 1

Noise measurements were obtained for the Advanced Ducted Propulsor (ADP) - Fan 1, with and without nacelle acoustic treatment. The fan was tested with no acoustic treatment (hard wall) and with acoustic treatment installed in three configurations in the nacelle (mid, mid plus aft, fully treated). The hard wall results showed that the radiated noise from the fan came primarily from the aft end of the nacelle. At takeoff and higher speeds, the noise measured at the inlet angles was also found to be dominated by noise from the aft end. Significant amounts of attenuation were observed with acoustic treatment installed and comparison with predictions showed the treatment gave more attenuation than predicted. Effective Perceived Noise Levels were determined for a large hypothetical 4 engine airplane. These levels showed that the installed acoustic treatment provided as much as 5 EPNdB of noise reduction. A traverse with a probe having three microphones, one above the other, showed azimuthal variations in the noise that need to be further investigated.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

A Fan Concept to Meet the 2017 Noise Goals

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has established a goal of a 20 EPNdB reduction of aircraft noise by the year 2017. This paper proposes a fan concept for an engine that may meet this noise goal. The concept builds upon technology established during the Advanced Subsonic Technology Program which should show a 10 dB reduction potential. The new concept uses a two stage fan which allows low tip speed while still maintaining a reasonable total pressure rise across the two stages. The concept also incorporates many other noise reduction techniques in addition to low tip speed including a low number of exit guide vanes, swept and leaned guide vanes, a high subsonic Mach number inlet and syncrophased rotors to obtain active noise cancellation. The fan proposed in this paper is calculated to be able to achieve the 2017 noise goal.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

A Fan Concept to Meet the 2017 Noise Goals

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Background noise levels measured in the NASA Lewis 9- by 15-foot low-speed wind tunnel

The acoustic capability of the NASA Lewis 9 by 15 Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel has been significantly improved by reducing the background noise levels measured by in-flow microphones. This was accomplished by incorporating streamlined microphone holders having a profile developed by researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center. These new holders were fabricated for fixed mounting on the tunnel wall and for an axially traversing microphone probe which was mounted to the tunnel floor. Measured in-flow noise levels in the tunnel test section were reduced by about 10 dB with the new microphone holders compared with those measured with the older, less refined microphone holders. Wake interference patterns between fixed wall microphones were measured and resulted in preferred placement patterns for these microphones to minimize these effects. Acoustic data from a model turbofan operating in the tunnel test section showed that results for the fixed and translating microphones were equivalent for common azimuthal angles, suggesting that the translating microphone probe, with its significantly greater angular resolution, is preferred for sideline noise measurements. Fixed microphones can provide a local check on the traversing microphone data quality, and record acoustic performance at other azimuthal angles.

Woodward, Richard P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Cruise noise measurements of a scale model advanced ducted propulsor

A scale model Advanced Ducted Propulsor (ADP) was tested in NASA Lewis Research Center's 8- by 6-Foot Wind Tunnel to obtain acoustic data at cruise conditions. The model, designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies, was tested with three inlet lengths. The model has 16 rotor blades and 22 stator vanes, which results in a cut-on condition with respect to rotor-stator interaction noise. Comparisons of the noise directivity of the ADP with that of a previously tested high-speed, unducted propeller showed that the ADP peak blade passing tone was about 30 dB below that of the propeller, and therefore, should not present a cabin or enroute noise problem. The maximum blade passing tone first increased with increasing helical tip Mach number, peaked, and then decreased at a higher Mach number. The ADP tests with the shortest inlet showed more noise in the inlet arc than did tests with either of the other two inlet lengths.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Cruise noise of an advanced propeller with swirl recovery vanes

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Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Noise Trends of a 0.5 M (20 In.) Diameter Supersonic Throughflow Fan as Measured in an Unmodified Compressor Aerodynamic Test Facility

The tone noise levels of a supersonic throughflow fan were measured at subsonic and supersonic axial duct Mach numbers. The noise in the inlet plenum showed no blade passing and harmonic tones at subsonic or supersonic axial flow conditions. At subsonic axial flow conditions, the supersonic throughflow fan showed no inlet plenum tones at fan operating conditions where tone noise had been previously measured for a subsonic fan design. This lower inlet-quadrant noise level for the supersonic throughflow fan was the result of high subsonic inlet velocities acting to reduce the noise propagating out the inlet. The fan noise, which was prevented from propagating upstream by the high subsonic inlet velocities, appeared to increase the noise in the exhaust duct at subsonic throughflow conditions. The exhaust duct noise decreased at supersonic axial throughflow Mach numbers, with the lowest blade passing and harmonic tones levels being observed at the design axial Mach number of 2.0. Multiple pure tone noise was observed in the inlet duct at subsonic axial flow Mach numbers but was seen only in the exhaust duct at supersonic axial flow conditions.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A concept for a counterrotating fan with reduced tone noise

As subsonic jet engine designs incorporate higher bypass ratios to reduce jet noise and increase engine cycle efficiency, the fan noise becomes a significant part of the perceived total noise. The conventional method of reducing fan tone noise is to design a low tip-speed device. An alternative approach of using a counterrotating fan with a high number of rotor blades is investigated in this report. The source of noise at the blade passing frequency of this device is the rotor-only mechanism, which is cut off for a subsonic tip speed rotor. The interaction noise occurs at twice the blade passing frequency, which, for this fan, was shifted high enough in frequency to be above the perceived noise rating range. The result was a counterrotating fan which had more potential for tone noise reduction than does the conventional fan. A potential broadband noise reduction was also indicated.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An evaluation of some alternative approaches for reducing fan tone noise

The potential of two alternative approaches for reducing fan ton noise was investigated in this study. One of these approaches increases the number of rotor blades to shift the tone noise to higher frequencies that are not rated as strongly by the perceived noise scale. This alternative fan also would have a small number of long chord stator vanes which would reduce the stator response and lower rotor-stator interaction noise. Comparison of the conventional and alternative fan concepts showed that this alternative approach has as large or larger a perceived tone noise reduction potential as the conventional approach. The other alternative, a high Mach number inlet, is evaluated both for its noise attenuation and for its change in noise directivity.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Detailed noise measurements on the SR-7A propeller: Tone behavior with helical tip Mach number

Detailed noise measurements were taken on the SR-7A propeller to investigate the behavior of the noise with helical tip Mach number and then to level off as Mach number was increased further. This behavior was further investigated by obtaining detailed pressure-time histories of data. The pressure-time histories indicate that a portion of the primary pressure pulse is progressively cancelled by a secondary pulse which results in the noise leveling off as the helical tip Mach number is increased. This second pulse appears to originate on the same blade as the primary pulse and is in some way connected to the blade itself. This leaves open the possibility of redesigning the blade to improve the cancellation; thereby, the propeller noise is reduced.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Potential reduction of en route noise from an advanced turboprop aircraft

When the en route noise of a representative aircraft powered by an eight-blade SR-7 propeller was previously calculated, the noise level was cited as a possible concern associated with the acceptance of advanced turboprop aircraft. Some potential methods for reducing the en route noise were then investigated and are reported. Source noise reductions from increasing the blade number and from operating at higher rotative speed to reach a local minimum noise point were investigated. Greater atmospheric attenuations for higher blade passing frequencies were also indicated. Potential en route noise reductions from these methods were calculated as 9.5 dB (6.5 dB(A)) for a 10-blade redesigned propeller and 15.5 dB (11 dB(A)) for a 12-blade redesigned propeller.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The effect of swirl recovery vanes on the cruise noise of an advanced propeller

The SR-7A propeller was acoustically tested with and without downstream swirl recovery vanes to determine if any extra noise was caused by the interaction of the propeller wakes and vortices with these vanes. No additional noise was observed at the cruise condition over the angular range tested. The presence of the swirl recovery vanes did unload the propeller and some small peak noise reductions were observed from lower propeller loading noise. The propeller was also tested alone to investigate the behavior of the peak propeller noise with helical tip Mach number. As observed before on other propellers, the peak noise first rose with helical tip Mach number and then leveled off or decreased at higher helical tip Mach numbers. Detailed pressure-time histories indicate that a portion of the primary pressure pulse is progressively cancelled by a secondary pulse as the helical tip Mach number is increased. This cancellation appears to be responsible for the peak noise behavior at high helical tip Mach numbers.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Predicted and measured boundary layer refraction for advanced turboprop propeller noise

Currently, boundary layer refraction presents a limitation to the measurement of forward arc propeller noise measured on an acoustic plate in the NASA Lewis 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. The use of a validated boundary layer refraction model to adjust the data could remove this limitation. An existing boundary layer refraction model is used to predict the refraction for cases where boundary layer refraction was measured. In general, the model exhibits the same qualitative behavior as the measured refraction. However, the prediction method does not show quantitative agreement with the data. In general, it overpredicts the amount of refraction for the far forward angles at axial Mach number of 0.85 and 0.80 and underpredicts the refraction at axial Mach numbers of 0.75 and 0.70. A more complete propeller source description is suggested as a way to improve the prediction method.

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The effect of swirl recovery vanes on the cruise noise of an advanced propeller

Dittmar, James H.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Comparison of propeller cruise noise data taken in the NASA Lewis 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel with other tunnel and flight data

The noise of advanced high speed propeller models measured in the NASA 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel has been compared with model propeller noise measured in another tunnel and with full-scale propeller noise measured in flight. Good agreement was obtained for the noise of a model counterrotation propeller tested in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel and in the acoustically treated test section of the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel. This good agreement indicates the relative validity of taking cruise noise data on a plate in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel compared with the free-field method in the Boeing tunnel. Good agreement was also obtained for both single rotation and counter-rotation model noise comparisons with full-scale propeller noise in flight. The good scale model to full-scale comparisons indicate both the validity of the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel data and the ability to scale to full size. Boundary layer refraction on the plate provides a limitation to the measurement of forward arc noise in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel at the higher harmonics of the blade passing tone. The use of a validated boundary layer refraction model to adjust the data could remove this limitation.

Dittmar, James H.↗